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Are you looking for an easier way to conduct online testing at your workplace or school? Then you may want to have a look at ZohoChallenge’s online test services.

Getting Started

You can get started by signing in with an existing Zoho account, creating a new account, or using your Google, Google Apps, Yahoo, or Facebook accounts.

If you are signing up for a new ZohoChallenge account, then this is the information that you will need to provide.

There are four different plans available depending on your particular needs. For our example we chose the Free Plan.

Settling into Your New Account

Once you are signed in and have chosen an account plan you will need to choose the ending for your new test URL. This is the final step in setting up your new testing account.

The central work area for your account is divided into four distinct areas with easy-to-use tab navigation. When you first start an account the Tests area will be empty, but will display a listing of tests created by you later. At this point you can start creating a test or start to work on a question bank.

This is where you will manage your test banks. You can work with existing question banks or create new ones as needed.

The Manage area allows you to manage additional details related to your online testing. The Plan area provides a detailed listing of the differences between account plans and provides a way to upgrade if desired.

Setting Up a Question Bank

For our example we decided to create a new question bank instead of using the default. Hovering your mouse over a listing will display the Control Menu shown on the right side. Choose the action you wish to perform from here.

When you start adding questions to a question bank the form will look very similar to a blog post creation window. The top area displays basic information about the question bank but the main focus is the lower area. Notice that you can choose the type of question (multiple choice shown here), assign scoring points, list answers (green plus symbol lets you go beyond four answers), set additional question parameters, & add comments and tags. Click Save and New to continue adding new questions or Save and Close to finish your work.

When you have finished adding new questions to your question bank you can view a listing of the set as shown here. This is really nice for a final review of your work!

Creating Tests

Once you have a question bank established you can get started on creating your tests. All that you need to do is choose a name for your test and select the question bank you want to use questions from.

Here is our new sample test…no questions at the moment but those are easy to add. Since we had a question bank created we chose the Pick Questions From Q.Bank option.

Adding questions is extremely easy to do…just select the questions that you want to use from the listing and click Add Questions.

Once you have clicked Add Questions you will be returned to the test so that you can review your selections. Notice the information regarding total points for the test, sections, direct questions (taken from question bank), and random questions. Click Save and Close to add the test to Drafts.

After you have created your tests they are added to a drafts folder. This is terrific for building up a test queue ahead of time for later use. To assign, make changes to the questions, or delete the test hover your mouse over the test listing and choose the appropriate action. Here we are assigning our sample test…

When you assign a test you will be able to set time limits, schedule the test, choose the passing percentage, establish permissions, choose to show or not show an evaluated answer paper on completion of the test, and enter/set additional details related to the test. Click Save Assignment when finished.

After clicking Save Assignment you will be returned to the tests list area. Notice that the test is now listed as (Test not yet taken) and displays the date range & time limits you have set up. To get the URLs for the test click on the test title/name…

Go to the More Actions Menu and choose the appropriate action. For our example we chose Permalink.

Taking the Tests

When the test URL is accessed you will see information regarding the test such as messages, time schedule, time limit, etc. When ready to begin click on the Start Test button.

When the Start Test button is clicked a new window will appear as seen here. It will feel very reminiscent of a minimal pdf reader window. There is a control bar at the bottom of the window for viewing answered questions, unanswered questions, saving your answers for the current section/page before continuing to the next, and a built-in timer. When finished with the test all that is left to do is click the Submit button.

Once you have clicked the Submit button you will see the results such as score, time used, and the test result. For our sample test we chose the Evaluated Answers Page with Correct Answers option for the better feedback & review it provides a person after they have finished the test.

Here is a closer look at a section of the Answer Page from above.

If you are the person who assigned the test you can view additional details once the testing period has begun. You can view the number of people who have passed, failed, or are in pending status. Once you get set up, creating and managing online tests is easy to do.

Akemi Iwaya is a devoted Mozilla Firefox user who enjoys working with multiple browsers and occasionally dabbling with Linux. She also loves reading fantasy and sci-fi stories as well as playing "old school" role-playing games. You can visit her on Twitter and Google+.

Published 08/24/10

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